A new selection of Isaac Babel's 26 most vital and beautiful stories,
in acclaimed translations by Boris Dralyuk
Isaac Babel honed one of the most distinctive styles in all Russian
literature. Brashly conversational one moment, dreamily lyrical the
next, his stories exult in the richness of everyday speech and sensual
pleasure only to be shaken by brutal jolts of violence.
These stories take us from the underworld of Babel's native Odessa, city
of gangsters and lowlives, of drunken brawls and bleeding sunsets, to
the terror and absurdity of life as a soldier in the Polish-Soviet War.
Selected and translated by the prize-winning Boris Dralyuk, this
collection captures the irreverence, passion and coarse beauty of
Babel's singular voice.